Visibility vital as technology becomes more complex

Discussions of enterprise video often head into directions that do not directly involve the actual business sector. This happens because consumer video trends, service provider issues and even broad IT considerations all play a vital role in corporate video strategies. As a result, organizations considering a strategic video investment benefit from evaluating the full breadth of factors impacting video delivery, not just the business side of the equation.

The data center is one area where ongoing trends can do a lot to inform organizations considering video programs. A recent report from The Data Center Journal explained that growing complexity is leading to a greater need for monitoring, analysis and management tools.

This data center trend is clearly mirrored in the video landscape, where increased use of the technology and diversity in how it is deployed is making supporting solutions vital to success.

Considering what’s going on in the data center

The news source explained that virtualization, cloud computing and other technologies are leading to a much more complex and difficult to manage data center. This has server, storage and network implications. Businesses trying to keep up with these emerging technologies without negative operational ramifications have to deal with a data center that functions at a much faster pace than before. This makes analysis, monitoring, maintenance and management tools critical. Perhaps most importantly, the growing complexity of consolidated data centers creates an environment in which visibility is critical.

Evaluating the video climate

Video is facing a similar situation because usage is ramping up considerably and there are more ways than ever to view content. Businesses can no longer just support some on-demand content, such as training videos, and expect to get the most out of video. Instead, organizations benefit from using a combination of webcasting, archived content, live streaming and other video formats to support a holistic enterprise video platform.

Where video and the data center intersect

As visibility provides the answer for complexity in the data center, it also acts as the solution for video challenges. Organizations that gain insight into how their employees view content, what video types they prefer and how viewing habits impact the network can more strategically deploy network upgrades and other solutions that improve video performance and help create a return on investment.